Base-ball bat.



J. A. MURPHY.

BASE BALL BAT. APPLIOATIOfi FILED 00T.3, 1911.

1,025,478. .Patentsd May'7,1 912-.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR,

ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES JAMES MURPHY, HQLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS.

BASE-BALL BAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application fi1ed-0ctober 3, 1911. Serial 1Io. 652,514.

Patented May '7, 1912.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, JAMES A. MURPHY, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at H, l'yoke, in the county of'Hampden and St vented new ,and useful Improvements in Base-Ball Bats, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in a base-ball bat whereby the batter may obtain a better grip on the bat than is possible on bats as at present made.

'The rules of the national game provide that all bats be made entit'ely of hard wood, except that for eighteen inches from the handle end they may be wound with string,

or provided with a granulated substance so that a better grip may be obtained than on the smooth wood.

It has been found fromexperierice that" where string is wound on the bat, or a granulated substance put thereon, it is continually wearing off and causing considerable. bother to renew. Forthis reason afavorite bat may be put out of commission at a critical point when a player most desires to use it. e

The object of this invention is to provide a bat which will always constantly be the same in giving a good grip for the batter and never getting out of order.

.In the drawings forming part of this ap-. plication,'-Figure 1 is a partial cross section of a bat embodying the invention, Fig. 2 is a side view of the improved bat, Fig. 3 isa cross section of the handle, Fig. 2; .Referring to the drawings, in Fig. 1 the bat is made entirely of hard wood. A centrally bored hole a is provided inthe bat and small'holes 6 lead from the exterior grooves e on the handle surface of the bat to said'cent-rally bored hole. When the batter grasps the handle of the bat his hands sink slightly into the grooves e. The grooves communicate with the centrally bored hole 0 by holes 6. This structure forms a ventilated bat with a means for obtaining a good grip on the bat. As the bat is swung, a slight vacuum will be created in the centrally bored hole 0, and the batters hands will be forced more tightly around the bat than would be the caseif there were noopenings to the atmosphere from those holes 'which are closed by the batters hands,- ate of Massachusetts, have in- An important feature of the invention is the fact that by boring thecentral hole 0 a iven distance, the weight of the bat will be distributed in a most convenient manner so that what ball players call'the hang of the bat will be determined conveniently,

When the bat is made. Thus a,,player who desires a bat with a particular hang may 1 be accommodated very easily by distributing the weight at the proper point when the hole 0 is bored out,all of whieh'can be calculated precisely.

In the form of invention shown longitudinal grooves are made in the'bat'to form a good ip for the hands,--abe. same time i rm a ventilated .llflfl Le, oh will prevent the batters hands from slip give an exceptionally good grip onthe bat while the radially bored holes extending to the atmosphere prevent the sting which usually accompanies the use of a grooved handle. It is'well known thatwhenthe smooth handle is used,- the battersihandsfrequently are so moist that he can not grasp the bat firmly. This is evidencedby the fact that batters are continually rubbing their hands in the dirt just before stepping to their place.

VVit-h the bat herein disclosed, the balance may be controlled conveniently; and a good grip obtained on the bat no matter what the condition of the batters handsm'a'y be.

What I claim, is v A base-ball bat coinprisinga body por tion made entirely of hard wood, the handle portion thereof being provided with exterior grooves, a centrally bored hole in said bat and small transverse holes leading from thj bottom of said grooves to said centrall bored hole.

' JAMES A.'MURPHY. Witnesses:

K. I. OLnMoNs, HARRY W. BOWEN.

H 70' P In this nvention the longltud'inal grooves 

